This invention relates to new and useful improvements in fish scaling devices.
In particular, it relates to power driven fish scalers of the type adapted to be held manually and moved over the surface of a fish which is being scaled.
Previously, it has been customary to scale fish with a scaling device having a power driven rotated head equipped with a series of blades either spiral or straight or equipped with a multiplicity of lugs projecting radially from a cylindrical surface of a head.
In the latter case, the lugs may be ground on the outermost edges to provide cutting edges and in case of blades, the blades are also in the nature of cutters being angulated to the direction of rotation so that a cutting action is accomplished.
The majority of these devices often damage the fleshy surface of the fish, particularly when same is broken, so that it becomes torn when the scaler is moved over the broken surface. The blades or cutting lugs catch under the skin and often rip the skin and flesh to an extent rendering it practically useless.
This is because the prior art devices include blades or lugs which are rigid and non-yielding and furthermore the blades or lugs often become dull after an extended period of use and unless re-ground periodically, the efficiency of the device decreases.
Attempts have been made to overcome these disadvantages and one such example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,449,753--J. F. Sawyer--dated Sept. 21, 1948.
In this particular patent, a plurality of wires extend between multi-fingered discs which are fixed to a drive shaft and the resiliency of the discs applies a certain tension to the wires. However, this particular device suffers from several disadvantages. Firstly, there is no control over the tension in the wires, said tension being provided solely by the tension of the multi-fingered discs which are fixed.
Secondly, no means is provided to vary the lie of the wires which, in the example shown, are straight or in other words parallel to the longitudinal axis of the spindle and it is desirable, under certain circumstances, to spiral these wires particularly when using same on coarse fish or fish with relatively large or tough scales.